Doctors from the Scottish region and the US Achieve Historic Brain Operation Via Robot
Surgeons from the Scottish region and America have accomplished what is considered a world-first brain operation using robotic technology.
Prof Iris Grunwald, from a medical institution, performed the distant clot removal - the removal of circulatory obstructions following a brain attack - on a human cadaver that had been donated to medical science.
The surgeon was located at a medical facility in the Scottish city, while the specimen being treated with the system was at another location at the research facility.
Hours later, a neurosurgeon from Florida used the equipment to perform the pioneering long-distance operation from his American facility on a donated cadaver in Dundee over 6,400km away.
The medical group has called it a potential "revolutionary development" if it becomes approved for medical treatment.
The doctors consider this innovation could change stroke care, as a slow access to professional intervention can have a major influence on the recovery prospects.
"The experience was we were seeing the early preview of the next generation," stated the medical expert.
"Whereas before this was regarded as theoretical concept, we proved that all stages of the procedure can already be done."
The University of Dundee is the international education hub of the international stroke organization, and is the sole location in the United Kingdom where doctors can work with donated bodies with biological fluid flowing through the vessels to simulate procedures on a living person.
"This was the first time that we could execute the complete clot removal operation in a genuine medical subject to prove that each stage of the operation are achievable," said the primary researcher.
A healthcare leader, the chief executive of a stroke charity, called the transatlantic procedure as "an extraordinary advancement".
"For too long, individuals from countryside locations have been deprived of access to thrombectomy," she added.
"Robotics like this could correct the imbalance which occurs in brain care across the UK."
How does the technology work?
An blockage stroke takes place when an artery is blocked by a obstruction.
This cuts off circulation and oxygenation to the brain, and neural cells cease working and expire.
The best treatment is a surgical extraction, where a surgeon uses surgical tools to clear the obstruction.
But what transpires when a patient cannot access a expert who can perform the surgery?
The lead researcher explained the study proved a automated system could be connected to the equivalent surgical tools a doctor would normally use, and a medic who is present with the individual could readily join the wires.
The surgeon, in another location, could then operate and direct their own wires, and the mechanical device then executes comparable motions in real time on the subject to carry out the thrombectomy.
The subject would be in a medical facility, while the doctor could perform the surgery via the automated equipment from any location - even their own home.
Prof Grunwald and Ricardo Hanel could view real-time imaging of the specimen in the experiments, and observe results in immediate feedback, with the Dundee expert saying it took only 20 minutes of instruction.
Technology companies leading tech firms were contributed to the project to guarantee the connectivity of the robot.
"To conduct procedures from the US to the Scottish nation with a 120 millisecond lag - a moment - is absolutely amazing," stated Dr Hanel.
The future of stroke treatment
The medical expert, who has won an award for her research and is also the executive member of the international medical organization, said there were two main problems with a traditional procedure - a worldwide deficiency of surgeons who can do it, and care is determined by your geographical position.
In Scotland, there are just three locations people can receive the procedure - Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you aren't located nearby, you must commute.
"The treatment is extremely time-critical," said the medical expert.
"Each six-minute postponement, you have a one percent reduced probability of having a successful recovery.
"This system would now offer a novel approach where you're not depending on where you live - saving the valuable minutes where your brain is degenerating."
Public health data showed there were {9,625 ischaemic strokes|numerous cerebral events|